Quips
by Adventure-Seeking-Juliet
Summary: Belle and Rumpelstiltskin manage to get themselves locked in an enchanted closet at the Dark Castle.


**Quips **

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: While searching the internet for prompts.

Disclaimer: I don't own the idea. I don't own the characters.

A/N Belle and Rumpelstiltskin manage to get themselves locked in an enchanted closet at the Dark Castle. So, I went to a random prompt generator and received this prompt:_ Two characters get locked in a small space together._

Here is my answer, I hope you enjoy~

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Belle leaned her head back against the cold stone, and brought her knees to her chest. She was shivering all over, but didn't want to admit her weakness to Rumpelstiltskin, who seemed content in the dark, freezing, closet.

"When did you start spinning?" She asked, trying to distract herself from the chill.

He sighed," Just because we are trapped together, doesn't mean we have to make conversation,_ dearie._"

Belle's teeth chattered," Please?"

He sighed again, in defeat ,"Before I was a... sorcerer, I worked as a spinner. It wasn't a noble job, but I was adept enough to make a small living off of it."

Belle nodded, trying not to let her teeth chatter too loudly," Do you...do you ever miss being a spinner?"

Rumpelstiltskin cocked his head to the side, confused," What do you mean? I still spin everyday...as you well know."

"What I meant to ask was- do you ever miss your life from before?" Belle tried again. She slowly inched closer to the Dark One, hoping to share some of his body heat without him noticing.

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her through the darkness, completely silent for several seconds.

Belle was beginning to wonder if she had gone too far, when he replied to her," _Sometimes_. Why do you ask?"

Belle continued to scoot herself closer as she spoke," Well..when I was a little girl, before my father became a lord, we just lived in a normal house with my mother. Things were very different. My father was a strong man, but no one expected him to lead them...my mother and I would go into the forest every afternoon and she would teach me about the plants and animals that lived there. Life was a lot harder when we lived like that, but sometimes, I think I would have rather have stayed there than become a _proper lady_."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded in understanding," Sometimes you don't know how good you life is until it changes."

"Yes," Belle agreed, still trembling from the cold.

"You're shivering," he observed, touching her shoulder," Why didn't you tell me you were cold?"

"I didn't want to complain," Belle whispered," You said you hate it when people whine about_ 'their unimportant problems.'_"

With a wave of his hand, Rumpelstiltskin had conjured a blanket," You are nothing like the whiny princesses I was referring to, dearie."

Belle beamed at him and took the blanket graciously," Do you really think that?"

"Why else would I have made you my caretaker? I have no time for ignorant princesses. You are different."

Belle scooted closer and spread the blanket over both of them. Rumpelstiltskin flinched in shock when she snuggled closer to him, but didn't move away.

A comfortable silence settled over the room, and it was only broken when Rumpelstiltskin asked," Belle...what happened to your mother?"

His voice was tentative, and he could only hope the question wouldn't be too personal for her to talk about.

To his surprise, she answered him immediately," My mother didn't agree with my father's decision to accept the lordship. She hated all of the aristocrats assossiated with his new position. One night, she came to my room and asked me to go away with her. She said she couldn't take it any longer. She wanted to live in the forest."

Belle had begun to shake again, though not from the cold, and Rumpelstiltskin found himself subconsciously reaching out to hold her hand.

"Did you agree to go with her?"

She tucked her face into his shoulder, causing her voice to become muffled," No. I told her I thought it wrong of her to leave my father. I told her I thought she was being selfish. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone."

Rumpelstiltskin patted her back, awkwardly," Did you ever see her again?"

"A few months after she left, her body was found near our old home. It looked like she had been attacked by an ogre." Her voice was devoid of emotion.

Rumpelstiltskin personally thought that Belle's mother had gotten her comeuppance for deserting her family. He knew what it felt like to be abandoned by the person you trusted most.

But he swallowed his tongue and said aloud," I'm sorry, Belle."

"It's not your fault, so you shouldn't be sorry," Bell replied, shaking her head," I just wonder what would have happened if I had gone with her...maybe I could have convinced her to come back."

Rumpelstiltskin hated the heartbroken tone in Belle's usually strong voice," Your mother's death was not _your_ fault, _dearie_. There was nothing you could have done, she made a bad choice. It happens to everyone."

Belle's only reply was to curl closer to Rumpelstiltskin.

"Before I was the Dark One, my wife left me," He said, finally. His anxiety at telling Belle about his past was terrible, but he had been hoping to make her feel better. To make a connection.

Belle sat up," What? _Why_?"

She seemed completely shocked that someone would leave him.

He found her reaction humorous," Do you honestly think a woman would _choose_ to stay with _me?_ My wife thought I was a coward. She made a good decision when she left me._"_

" I don't think so, Rumpelstiltskin," Belle said, adamantly," If I had been in her place, I would have never willingly left you. You are a good man, and if she couldn't see that, she was blind."

"She _was_ blind."

Belle's face paled," Oh-I..."

Rumpelstiltskin grinned," That was a quip."

Belle rolled her eyes," I should have known."

She rested her head on his shoulder and they both drifted off to sleep.

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A/N I don't know why I wrote this. But I hope you enjoyed it!_ Please_, review!


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